MOSCOW, July 11 (Reuters) - The government has dropped theidea of selling a stake in Russia's top oil firm Rosneft on the market and prefers its direct sale to strategicinvestors, RIA news agency quoted Russian First Deputy PrimeMinister Igor Shuvalov as saying on Monday.
The government has sold a stake in diamond producer Alrosa, and the plan now is to sell oil company Bashneft next, while Rosneft may be privatised in the autumn,RIA also quoted Shuvalov as saying. (Reporting by Katya Golubkova; Writing by Dmitry Solovyov)